If I want to be technically accurate the title of this should be why I wrote two books I knew no one would read because What Next wasn’t my first book (if you read What Next you’ll find out what my first book was).

Let’s start with why I knew no one would read these books. The main reason is because I’m a nobody (I even have a chapter called A Bunch of Nobodies). Which book about success would you buy, the one written by the person you never heard of and know nothing about, or the one written by the wildly successful billionaire who is known throughout the world? I read a lot of books like that and I couldn’t relate. Even if the author started with less than I did (which would be hard but not impossible) I still couldn’t relate. There was something missing from those books but what?

Another reason I knew no one would read these books is related to the first reason, no agent or publisher would give me a second look and many wouldn’t even give me a first look. The main reason was – “who would buy a book like this from you? Nobody knows who you are.” I knew that going the self-published route relegated me to obscurity with all the pressure on me, mentally and financially, to handle all the marketing and promotion.

If those are the reasons I believed no one would read my books why did I write them anyway?

I wrote these books because I ask What Next, because I’m curious enough to wonder what if, adventurous enough to try to find out, and willing to take a certain amount of risk to see it through. These were the traits I saw in wildly successful people and I believe that if you can cultivate those skills, you too can achieve more than you ever imagined. The success I saw came from people who were often called crazy but did it anyway.

I wanted to write a book about success from a normal person’s perspective without setting the bar ridiculously high. That doesn’t mean that I don’t aim ridiculously high, it just means I’m realistic. That’s why I couldn’t relate to the books written by billionaires.

My belief that no one would buy my book has been somewhat proved correct as sales of What Next were not setting any records. Actually they were kind of slow. Alright, to be honest sales have been pathetic. But that hasn’t stopped me from deciding this: I’m writing another book. It will be a while as I’ve just written the first two paragraphs and haven’t lined up any interviews yet but my decision has been made.

The reason I made the decision to write another book stems from what I’m going through as I start a new business. Any one of us can identify our What Next but then the hard part begins, figuring out what to do to make it a reality. Through my experience with this new business, my other ideas and ventures, and the experiences of other successful people I hope to put together another book that will inspire and inform. And a few more sales wouldn’t hurt.